First, the typical case reflects the problem
In the past few years, we have investigated dozens of different types of international trade arrears and found that the following problems are common in foreign trade business.
1. Do not pay attention to foreign investment credit survey. Credit investigation is a link that foreign trade companies in China should not be lacking in external transactions. The status of foreign credit is directly related to whether foreign trade companies can strictly perform contracts, collect foreign exchanges and receive goods safely. In the import and export trade, some foreign trade companies do not conduct credit investigations for foreign investors, but also rashly adopt payment methods (D/A, D/P) that are of great risk to exporters, causing fraudulent deception by foreign unscrupulous businessmen. Take the opportunity. For example, if a foreign trade company signs a black-and-white TV contract with a foreign company, as a front-end trade, the company only uses the credit report provided by the buyer itself, and uses the acceptance and delivery method (D/A60) without any investigation. After the goods, the foreign party refused to pay the goods. After recourse, it was found that the buyer company had already sold to other companies and could not recover the purchase price.
In foreign trade, even the old customers' credit status and operating conditions for many years of cooperation are not static. When the old customer's payment is abnormal, if there is a lack of vigilance, if the credit investigation is not carried out in time, and the current operating status is known, the opportunity to avoid the risk will be lost.
2. There is a problem with the quality of the goods and the performance is not serious. The export is not delivered on time, and the quality, quantity and specifications of the goods are inconsistent with the contract, which causes the phenomenon of foreign claims to occur from time to time. A foreign trade company exports toys to the United States. After the goods arrive, the buyer refuses to pay. In the course of recourse, the US pointed out that the quality of the goods has serious problems, and the samples do not match the purchase price. Although the contract stipulates that the Chinese commodity inspection certificate shall prevail, our company has not undergone commodity inspection at the time of export. Due to the failure to obtain the commodity inspection certificate, it is difficult to recover the purchase price.
3. The terms of the contract are flawed and the business operations are not standardized. Some contract goods quality specifications are not specific, the liability for breach of contract is not clear, the payment terms are not equal, and disputes are difficult to resolve. In the transaction under the conditions of the letter of credit, due to the lack of strict auditing, the operation is inadvertent, the documents are inconsistent, and there is no shortage of cases where the other party refuses to pay the goods. The company exports paraffin to the Bangladesh company, and the company is open a letter of credit from the Hong Kong company in the province. Due to discrepancies in the documents, our company only delivers the goods according to the verbal commitment of the Hong Kong company. If the discrepancies are not satisfied, the shipping company will auction the goods without authorization and charge the freight.
4. Do not attach importance to the use of legal means to protect their legitimate rights and interests. In foreign trade, "heavy relationship, light claims" is a very common phenomenon. It is better to suffer losses from national interests, and is not willing or not good at demolition. Some companies choose foreign bad debt collection companies to recover their money. If a company exports clothing to a Hong Kong company, the other party asks for quality problems after receiving the goods, and only pays 50% of the purchase price. Our company searched for a debt collection company in Hong Kong after repeated recourses. After the company recovered the money, it broke contact with us. When our company finds the buyer company, the buyer claims that the payment has been taken away by the debt collection company. If the company sues, the evidence can be presented in court.
Second, statistics and comprehensive analysis
The representative of the Chinese D&B company, which specializes in the recovery of international commercial accounts, has made statistical analysis on the issue of arrears in the mainland:
1. From the direct cause of international trade arrears: (1) 60% of the arrears of intentional fraud; (2) 25% of product quality/conditions; (3) 10% of serious management errors; (4) 5%.
2. From the overseas companies involved in international trade arrears cases: (1) overseas Chinese companies (including Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan companies) accounted for 50%; (2) bad foreign companies accounted for 20%; (3) purely controversial goods The company accounts for 20%; (4) foreign institutions account for 5%; (5) others account for 5%.
3. From the distribution of domestic cases in international trade arrears: (1) concentrated in coastal cities and special economic zones in 1980-1990; (2) mainly in the inland provinces from 1990 to 1994; (3) newer trends, provinces or cities There are many foreign trade companies in the areas under its jurisdiction, and they are transferred to areas and companies that lack foreign trade experience.
Third, the reasons for international trade arrears
The formation of international trade arrears has both foreign and domestic reasons. As far as foreign reasons are concerned, some overseas unofficial companies have used China's opening up to actively expand foreign trade, but the corresponding legal system is still not perfect. The business personnel and managers of foreign trade companies are not fully familiar with international operating standards, and they are eager to achieve success. The mentality, in terms of human feelings or small favors, etc., will break through some of the original warnings of my foreign trade company, or set a trap on the terms and methods of the contract, which will create reasons for default in the future. According to statistics from relevant departments, the overdue foreign exchange receipts of Chinese enterprises are among the many reasons for foreign countries. The poor reputation of importers and the intentional arrears of our overseas agencies account for about 50%. Our own problems are mainly:
1. The foreign trade company system and the modern international economic and trade development requirements are not suitable. China's foreign trade company is not a true corporate system. Although it has transformed its operating mechanism and expanded its autonomy, it has not established a sound system in terms of management, business management, and financial systems. It lacks necessary business personnel and business activities. Supervision and control, so it is impossible to find problems in time and not solve problems properly.
2. The low management level of some companies and the poor quality of business personnel are the direct causes of international trade arrears. In recent years, over-emphasis on international market development, neglecting the complexity of the international market and the prevention of risks; over-emphasizing the development of the face and the pursuit of turnover, relaxed the management of international arrears. The credit investigation of foreign merchants is not institutionalized in China's foreign trade companies, and the business process is arbitrarily large. In the investigation cases, the foreign trade companies accounted for 50% of D/P or D/A transactions, with T/T, 25% of transactions in the form of bank transfer.
3. The management of behavioral norms in the operation of foreign trade enterprises is not strict. Some foreign trade companies are in the name of contracting and decentralization. In fact, they are laissez-faire, causing internal and external collusion, damage to public fat, and the use of power for personal gains.
4. The legal consciousness is weak. Some business leaders and business personnel are accustomed to using administrative means to deal with problems, and do not dare or use legal methods to solve problems in foreign trade. Some companies do not take effective legal measures in the event that the company is obviously in breach of contract or fraud, causing the company to suffer significant losses.
5. The self-protection mechanism of state-owned assets is not perfect. In the financial and performance appraisal system, it is impossible to timely reflect the status of the company's overdue remittance, and there is no corresponding punishment for those directly responsible for the loss. The competent authorities are not aware of the problem of international arrears and are therefore unable to establish an early warning line, making it difficult to formulate effective regulatory measures.
IV. Countermeasures Due to defects in the operation and management system, the problem of international trade arrears continues to occur, and the enterprises that are in arrears are not willing to expose things, so the problem is difficult to find early and form a dead corner to evade supervision. Failure to study and resolve international arrears will inevitably cause significant losses to the country.
To solve the problem fundamentally, only in the reform of the modern enterprise system, deepen the reform of China's foreign trade system, accelerate the pace of establishing a modern enterprise system for foreign trade enterprises, and thoroughly improve the management mechanism and operational mechanism of foreign trade enterprises. In this regard, we should improve the system, strengthen management, formulate preventive measures, and avoid the occurrence of international default cases to a large extent, and gradually establish prevention, monitoring, and governance mechanisms for international trade risks.
1. It is imperative to improve the quality of foreign trade business personnel. Relevant departments should strengthen research on international trade risks. Foreign trade enterprises should pay attention to the training of business personnel to prevent international arrears. It is especially important for those who have just engaged in foreign trade and those who have obtained import and export management rights in recent years. Foreign trade and economic colleges should also open relevant courses, and the import and export chambers of commerce should provide consulting services for international market development and risk management for import and export companies in this industry.
2. Establish standardized operating procedures for foreign trade risk management. Strengthening internal management and foreign investment credit investigations is the main measure to avoid international defaults. In particular, transactions conducted in D/P and D/A require a rigorous review and a credit investigation issued by the relevant department. From the actual experience, insisting on the investigation of the new customer's first letter of credit, conducting regular investigations on the old customers or finding suspected points in a timely manner can reduce the number of overseas arrears by 50%.
3. Foreign trade companies should handle export credit insurance to insurance companies if they are unable to determine the degree of trading risk.
4. If the payment is overdue for 3 months, there must be recourse. If the other party fails to pay within the time limit, if it is not recovered within 3 months, it should actively seek external solutions (including legal channels such as arbitration and litigation). International trade experience shows that when the payment is overdue for 3 months, the loss can be reduced by about 70%.
5. The foreign trade and economic management department shall conduct a special investigation on the issue of overdue foreign exchange receipts by foreign trade enterprises. To study and formulate monitoring measures, such as linking the issue of foreign exchange collection with the financial system and the performance appraisal system, and deducting the payment for the overdue 3, 6, 9 and 12 months from the current year's benefits, and investigating the responsibility for the direct responsibility for the loss.
6. Strengthen publicity and education on international economic and trade laws, enhance legal awareness, and learn to use legal means to deal with and solve problems. Engaging in international trade involves extensive and complex laws. Every way of trade, every link of the transaction, every clause of the contract is a manifestation of a legal relationship involving different rights and obligations. Therefore, in foreign trade activities, we must act in accordance with the law, strictly abide by the contract, and pay attention to the role of lawyers. This is a successful experience proved by international trade practice.